Chapter 20 Aurelia
Aurelia
Ilooked over the deep grooves in the body before me, my stomach twisting more and more the longer I looked at it.
One would think the general’s death going off without a hitch would please me, but I felt like we were toeing a line. Every moment felt like I was holding my breath, fearing one wrong move would send us all tumbling to the wrong side.
General Lee’s body was the most grotesque thing I’d ever seen, and the longer I stared, the harder it was to look away.
I had seen many vampires die. My mother. Our people.
But none of them looked like this.
The wounds were carved into his chest, and they felt fresh but somehow old at the same time. Jagged edges. They were deep and still open, but there was no blood coming from them.
I reached out to touch the skin, the urge to feel it overpowering me. Calling me.
“Stop!” Cedar ordered, her hand finding my shoulder and jerking me away.
I snapped out of the trance then, my mind and body catching up. I hadn’t realized how close I had gotten.
All of us were lingering in the side room, the Blood Rites having ended hours before. Adrian fucked off to do god knows what, but I didn’t truly care when I had this monstrosity in front of me.
Atlas had joined us on my request. She had to sneak in from the garden so Adrian wouldn’t see her or notice she’d come, since he would no doubt be likely to attack her for her absence at the ceremony.
I had sent my husband away to work on some cleanup and make sure the four of us had enough time to talk, and now that he was back, he stood to the side, not wanting to get too close to the body.
We needed all the backup we could get for something like this.
I grabbed our witch’s hand, needing something to steady me. There was still a constant flow of disgust and fear coming from her whenever she looked at the body.
After her explanation, I could understand why. General Lee had been doing the unthinkable.
“This is…” Vesper started, standing by my side, looking down at the general with a frown. She was trying to send calming waves to both of us through the bond, but it was a lost cause. The situation was unraveling into something far more horrifying than I ever could have imagined.
“Grotesque,” I finished for her. “I didn’t know this was even possible. That someone would stoop as low as…”
I shook my head. Even after I exposed him and everything fell into place, I don’t think I truly understood the magnitude of what the vampire had done. To himself and others.
My eyes fell to Cedar for what felt like the millionth time.
From the moment I showed everyone his wounds, she had been on edge.
Not just anxiety, but fear. True fear. I'd never seen her like this.
Even when her own coven hurt her. When we ran for our lives.
When we watched Vesper get taken away from us.
She feared what the body meant. I could sense it in her. Even without the bond, it was easy because her entire body was tense and ready to run. Always facing the door.
“How many witches does it take to do this?” Vesper asked, looking at Cedar, and her fear spiked further.
“At least a dozen, I'm guessing.”
My heart dropped.
Atlas looked at her. “You're guessing? Aren't you our expert here? Maybe we picked the wrong witch.“
For the first time, Cedar looked to the ground, almost like a sign of submission to Atlas. Anger stirred to life in my veins.
“You don’t speak to her that way,” I hissed. Atlas glared at me but softened almost immediately after. I knew it was due to her soft spot for me, but I didn’t give a damn.
I wouldn’t allow anyone to talk like that to my lovers. Ally or otherwise.
“What I mean is that you're the only witch in close proximity. Are you telling me you know nothing? If we are going to figure out the risks of this whole thing, we need information.”
Nervousness built up in Cedar. I reached out to grab her hand and found her shaking. My heart broke for our witch.
“All I know is that if vampires are doing this, I am in danger. Every witch is. Once they realize they can harness our power, they will do anything for it. No matter the consequences.”
Vesper stepped forward, taking Cedar’s other hand.
“What else can you tell us about this?”
“I think…” Cedar took a deep breath. “I think my coven is connected to this.”
The news felt like a bomb.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my stomach dropping.
Her eyes shifted to mine before they went back to the body. But the words weren’t coming out.
“The witch’s body, right?” Caspian asked, finally coming closer. “I saw your reaction earlier.”
He walked toward her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Surprisingly, she didn’t push it off, but from the way her body was hunched forward, I guessed it was more because she lacked the energy than because she enjoyed his touch.
She nodded.
“Was it someone you recognized?” Vesper offered, her other hand coming to touch Cedar’s and my joined ones.
Cedar sent her a bitter smile.
“The body was too destroyed to know,” she said. “But our cloaks were magically treated to withstand even the most powerful magic.”
“We won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
It was Caspian who delivered that line, bringing out a flood of warmness from me.
My life had been filled with men trying to hurt me. Steal from me. Bind me to them and use my body for whatever they wanted.
He was a refreshing change, and at that moment, I was glad I picked him.
“As heartwarming as this is, can you give us anything else?” Atlas growled.
“Just because you’re pissed that you have to get married doesn’t mean you can take it out on us,” Vesper spat.
“You think I wanted to be starved to death and turned into a vampire? You think Cedar wanted to spend every night living the same recurring nightmare after what her coven did to her? You think Aurelia wanted to be sold as a broodmare? Grow up, Atlas. No one wanted any of this.”
Atlas’s eyes turned a brilliant red.
“It’s your fucking fault all this happened,” she hissed. “All I wanted was to help Aurelia. I regret taking you in every day. All you’ve done is cause me trouble—”
“Both of you, stop!” My tone left no room for discussion as I stood between them.
During the word sparring, they had inched closer to each other until they were a mere foot away, somehow forgetting about the dead body between us.
“If you can’t keep it together, I will be forced to treat you like the children you’re acting like. ”
They glared at each other, neither of them willing to lose the game of pride.
I put one hand on each of their chests and pushed them away. That got their attention, and they both looked down at me. I gave them a warning growl.
“Now, Cedar, if you'd be so kind as to finish telling us what you know.”
She nodded and let out a shaky breath. I reached out and held her hand through it. Caspian was by her side, looking at her with the utmost concern.
“The only knowledge I have is what I spent years accumulating. The nightmares. The visions from the seer. About my parents.”
“Visions?” Vesper asked. “You never told me…”
Bitterness and pain filled the bond.
“I didn't know it at first. He was trying to tell me something. I can see that now,” she said, looking at the hunter with a pleading gaze.
“My coven must've used a similar way to steal power.
That's how my… parents died. He was showing it to me over and over again, forcing me to look. The rune was slightly different, but in my heart, I know it was meant for the same thing.”
“Do you think your coven and the council have been working together?” I asked.
Cedar gave me a shaky nod.
“They're involved. I saw the rune on the floor in the room with Kyan. No one could do that except for a witch. So I guess it's your turn, Atlas. What can you tell us about your previous family?”
Atlas crossed her arms.
“They’ve worked with witches, that much I know. But I was not at the point where I knew much about the inner workings of the council before I left, so I can’t help much there.”
We were at a standstill. All the information we had was out in the open, but there was no clear path forward, and we still had a decaying body in front of us.
“On the bright side, without him, getting to my brother will be easier. And we can finish this prophecy once and for all. Even if we don’t know much about what they’re involved in, it’s a start.”
“I can ask the witches,” Cedar said after a moment.
“No.”
“You’re not going back there.”
Vesper and I spoke at the same time, protectiveness flaring in the bond. Her face was a picture of exhaustion and anxiety, but for a moment, a small smile broke.
“Not my coven. There are others out there. More witches I can ask. I have a… lead I think can give us some answers.”
Something was rumbling in my chest. I didn’t want to say it. As the person in charge of seeing to my brother’s downfall, I knew what I needed to ask of her, but I didn’t want to. Not when this was already affecting her so badly.
“Ask, Princess. I see you wavering,”
Of course Cedar can see right through it.
I sighed. “We need to recruit the witches. I was originally going to ask you that, but after seeing how this affected you… I didn’t want to push you too hard. Nor do I want to put you in danger again.”
“I know, but we need the help, don’t we? On top of that… The body should be returned. Your brother requested it be used as a message, but the covens may be able to figure out who he killed in the process and let their loved ones know.”
“It will start a war,” Atlas hissed. “And if they figure out the council is involved…
“Not if she says it was him alone,” I said. “That was his story, and we will stick to it.”
“We should still send a message to the council,” Atlas insisted. “Let them know we are onto them.”
Vesper snickered.
“Seriously? You’re going to put us in danger just because you want to get back at them? Are you crazy?”
The comment set Atlas off. She rushed at Vesper, her hands grabbing her shirt.
“You know, I never fucking liked you. I smelled it from the beginning.”
“Again… Grow. The fuck. Up.” Vesper enunciated each word, almost like she was goading her.
In a second, Caspian was on the other side of Atlas, pulling her away, while I did the same to Vesper. Fucking children.
Aurelia gave Vesper a sharp look, and through the bond I could feel the anticipation for the punishment she was going to deliver for this outburst.
“The head goes to the council, the body to the witches,” I hissed. “I will deliver the head with Vesper—alone—and Cedar will go to the witches.”
“I am coming—”
“If you can prove to me that you will not fight Kyan and behave, I will have you come. But remember that our fight is with my brother, not the council.”
Atlas held my gaze, her chest puffing. But then she stepped back.
“Kyan is still mad at me. Maybe it’s better if I don’t come.”
“What is that about anyway?” Vesper asked.
Atlas looked like she was going to fight her but held back.
“I was born into the family in charge of the council. Kyan is a cousin, never supposed to be in charge,” she admitted.
“Everyone was looking forward to the day I would take over, but…” She looked away with a frown.
“I didn’t want it. I knew my family was up to some shit, but I never knew it was this.
I ran. I kept my identity hidden and started my clan. I never looked back.”
“Is that all?” Cedar asked. “Kyan seems to hate you.”
Atlas’s jaw clenched.
“I may or may not have killed her lover.”
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
“Maybe we should get a messenger to drop it off.”
“Agreed.”
“Yep.”